We're back

from E3 2017

While we don’t develop video games, this industry is an important one for us to keep an eye on for many reasons. Games often push the boundaries of experiences and graphics, which can eventually find ways into divergent industries. Games reflect the current cultural climate while delivering on the escape from every day life that people crave, expanding imaginations and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. The hardware developed to enable game play offers lessons on user experience, durability, fun, connectivity, niche marketing and whimsy. Plus, it’s fun.

We hope you enjoy our peek into this space and welcome a conversation on how some of these insights might inform your current product development program.

nostalgia

Game and gaming hardware companies are turning to the past for their new releases. Whether it’s because it brings us back to simpler times or just makes us feel like kids again, the strategy is successful in this industry.

It’s fun to look at the dichotomy of modern, incredibly real graphics with a retro, nostalgic offering.

Cuphead, an old-school 2D game by Microsoft was received with open arms by gamers at E3.

From a design standpoint, the Nintendo Switch is kinda plain, clean and simple...refreshing and appropriate.

big hardware & accessories

The market for pricey hardware aimed at the most serious gamers seems to be growing every year.

New Forza7 and that gaming seat... real as you can get without Geico insuring you.

chicken, egg

movies, games

It used to be that if there was a huge success on the silver screen, a video game might follow. Now, high-budget movies are based on games, and games have story lines and special effects more immersive than movies that studios dump millions into.

Is it a movie, or is it Sony PlayStation? The line between film and games gets more blurred every year.

Movies based on games that

garnered big box office dollars

In 1956, Arthur Samuel demonstrates to a TV audience his computer checkers game he programmed on an IBM-701. Six years later, it defeats a checkers master. Five years after that, Alex Bernstien writes a chess program on an IBM-704 advanced enough to evaluate four half-moves ahead. In February 2011, IBM Watson competed on Jeopardy! In February 2013, it was used for utilization management decisions for lung cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

translatable tech for consumer products

Super cool gesture control from Clay is ready for integration into gaming, transport and home automation markets.

Gaming computers once were designed with an eye toward a younger audience, with crazy colors, shapes and out-there aesthetics. As the gaming industry matures, it's delivering more serious looking machines to drive the games played by its adult market.

The average age of gamers: 35

The average age of game purchasers: 38

42% of the most frequent game players feel video games help them spend time with family